


All In the Cards 2018

by merryfortune



Series: Arc V Event Week Fills [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Other, Rare pair week 2018, Some Chapters are Alternate Universe, Some Chapters are Canon Compliant, Some Chapters are Canon Divergent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-07 12:28:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15219170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merryfortune/pseuds/merryfortune
Summary: Submissions for Rare Pair Week 2018.





	1. Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dennis and Ruri are dance partners in the atrocity that is war.

   War was a dance and Dennis had never been particularly good at dancing.

   Ruri, however, she was elegant and gorgeous. Her movements were free; she was freeing. Every gesture, a symbol, and every symbol was perfectly executed. She was a dove carrying the olive branch; she was a dove carrying an olive branch right into the pits of hell, spewing selfishness and brimstone.

   She tried.

   She failed.

   Dennis had tried too.

   Dennis had failed too.

   It had been his duty to try. It had been his personal pleasure to fail. He had always been too tall, too red-headed, too smiley, too squirrely. Someone like him was not suited to the artful movement of dance or the artful movement of war. Alas, he had tried on both fronts and alas, he failed on both fronts.

   The only pleasure he had, the only delight he had in the oncoming doom, was love.

   Infatuation. A crush. Passion without base. Call it whatever you want but at the summit of such feelings, Dennis had Ruri.

   He had picked her out of the crowd by the sparkle upon her wrist and by her long eyelashes framing a gorgeous pair of eyes. He had picked her out by the way the sunlight warmed her long tresses of hair. He had picked her out by the thump of his heart as he picked him out by the awkward smile he possessed as he tried to trick his way through the dimension to bring about its destruction.

   Ruri was a lover and fighter. She made peace. She made love. She made violence. Her protests were elegant. They were strong and mature and borne of something bigger than her which drew her into the depths of despair, but she kept on trying to make something small from it. Just a small tinder of hope in the flames of despair; the carnage of war.

   War was a dance and Ruri had always been particularly good at the latter. She would never have dreamed she would be good at the former but in such times of crisis, she was.

   However, she was the turtle dove with an olive branch. Dennis had been the archer. Yuri the arrow. And thus, the war claimed her at the crux of her dance.


	2. Beauty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri ascends his form and has become one with his counterparts. With memories of Yuya intact, he finds that Mieru could be useful in his further conquests.

   To share in the fruit of fate is a wonderful thing. They say apples are the reward for the one who defies fate for the sake of love. However, not all sacrifices are beautiful. They are not elegant swords poised and cinematographic shadows projected onto ruddy brick walls. Sometimes, they are ugly and wounding.

   Sometimes they were uneven shards of crystals and bleeding palms.

   Mieru stared in awe. She watched as maroon blood dripped down the curves of her palm, through the rivets of her love and lifelines, and down her thumb until it dripped past her and splatted on the conquered ground beneath her. She swallowed, and her hands shook. What remained of her apple glittered with her blood beneath her. Then, she looked up.

   “Y-You’re not my Darling.” she said, as boldly and defiantly as she could.

   The monster in front of her scratched his chin with his claw. He grinned like a mewling cat.

   “I’m not? I feel like I am... Mieru?” he said.

   “You’re not! My Darling!” Mieru yelled. “You’re not Yuya!”

   “I am he.” he said. “Or, at least I was. I’m still a Yu if it concerns you. Yu-ri. Not Yu-ya.”

   He reached out his hand and his claws traced over Mieru’s jawline, he lifted her chin, so he could properly examine the terror in her emerald eyes.

   “Do-Don’t touch me!” Mieru yelled.

   “To think... Yuya had a beauty such as yourself fawning over him and he would have chosen the girl who would have brought about his demise had I not... intervened.” Yuri mused.

   “What did you do to Darling?” Mieru asked, her voice wavering and eyes watering.

   “He lost our little duel so therefore, his soul was forfeit and now, it is I who shall inherit the title of the Demon King, our predecessor... Zarc.” Yuri informed Mieru. “But enough of that, my sweet belladonna. Let’s think to the future.”

   The smile that split across Yuri’s face was evil. He let go of Mieru’s face and held her hand. He squeezed her little, doll-like hands. Her blood now on him.

   “I hear you can predict the future. So, I want to be told of my kingdom to come. You will be such a delight in my court. I could make you a queen, my sweet.”

   And, for the first time, Mieru did not want to think of the future. She did not want a glimpse of beyond the present. She did not want to know of the ‘kingdom’ which had Yuri at its helm.

   Mieru trembled where she stood. Fate, the future, all of that gone. She thought that if she fought for love, fought with Lancers, she would be able to share in the fruit of fate but, it seems, there are no such beautiful myths of love everlasting and fated ones. At least not for her anyway.


	3. Ocean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captain Shun Kurosaki grows obsessed with the creature, the dragon, of the stars whom he has dubbed Kaito.

  The stars, outer space, was as much as an ocean as the azure waves on the azure planet, Earth. But Shun had never felt the shackles of earth. He’d always been drawn to air. He liked razor cutter winds and trajectories which spiralled upwards. It’s no wonder that he took his crew of raiders and his ship, the Revolutionary Falcon, beyond the stars.

  But there were things about the deep and dark. Things Shun couldn’t explain. Songs, ethereal and eerie, which seemed to emanate from beyond the steel which covered his ship and trickles of light from unknown directions. Directions which were empty for knots and knots.

  There were legends.

  Just as there were legends at sea, there were legends amongst the stars.

  They called them everything from sirens to mermaids to even dragons. It was hard to believe such goofy things were out there, inspiring the minds of astronauts, raiders, and more like they were. That was until Shun one for himself. A dragon, he would call it. There were creatures out there with human faces and the bodies of reptiles and fish. They inspired light where light could not exist and drank the aether like we drink oxygen.

  They weren’t aliens. Alien life didn’t exist. At least not as far as humans could travel which was not too far. Not yet at least. It took too much time so for now, they jetted around Mars and Luna, the moon.

  Shun, personally, didn’t know what to call them at first. He didn’t think they existed and they supposedly existed from everything from clownfish-like to something akin to a bearded dragon. But then he saw one.

  It was in between these grandiose places that were grandiose spaces. And it was there that Captain Shun Kurosaki swore up and down he saw one. His sister believed him. His second in command was cynical but he knew if their leader saw something, he saw something.

  The first glimpse had been the hardest. Not just on his eyes, but on his psyche. Shun had been awake at midnight. Though, it was only midnight by their clocks. Out here, in the darkness of space, it was always night, always a vivid midnight hour. He didn’t know why but he was. Couldn’t sleep.

  So, he paced about his ship. Checked on things. There were superstitions after all. If a grunt can’t sleep, all is normal. If the Captain can’t sleep, all goes wrong. And Shun was the highest-ranking member of their close-knit gang. So, he kept that in mind.

  Then he passed one of the windows: grand and excessive. It was breathtaking. As a dweller from earth, despite belonging to the winds and to the stars, Shun was always in awe of it and then he saw something swim past. The flicker of fins and the glitter of scales. It was huge. He was huge.

  One of the creatures. The storied dragons of space had appeared before him. It was gigantic. Bigger than his ship. It was a creature with a humanoid face: sharp, cobalt eyes with a maroon pattern over one and blonde hair which looked as though could entangle the stars drifted past. Upon its crown, it wore a green-blue tiara emblazoned with gems.

   His midsection was human-like, except where it transformed into the hind legs of a streamlined, draconic creature of some sort. What appeared to be jewels, colour a magenta akin to dried blood, glittering upon its otherwise indigo body. It bore claws and fangs. It was terrifying and awe-inspiring all at once.

  And he sparkled. He glowed. He exuded an unknown photon light. He was gorgeous. A beautiful dragon from deep in the ocean the raiders called space; the raiders called home.

  Shun watched. In utter awe. His breath held. Then, it disappeared into the light with a flap of its wings. It was like it hadn’t even noticed him. Upon its disappearance, Shun could breathe again.

  At first, he had denied his experience, but he was a pirate of the deep. He hadn’t felt the earth beneath his feet in a long time. There were superstitions after all. Raiders and pirates were mad. Shun didn’t think he was mad. Not until then. Not until he started hearing voices and seeing the sparkling trail of celestial comets that don’t exist, can’t exist, for they belonged to the tail of his dragon.

  But it is those superstitions which make space farers what they are. Especially raiders like Shun. There was a particular kind of madness that makes pirates of the deep like they are. They get a sort of madness, an obsession. One that intensifies after the encounters of a celestial kind like his.

  Thus, began Shun’s own madness. His own obsession. He had to hunt down the beast he had seen; his own white whale, his own galactic dragon. He gave it a name because that’s why you did. Names have powers. He called it Kaito. And he was mad for Kaito: obsessive and passionate.


	4. Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mieru is a prodigious oracle in a town which has a strange relationship with monsters. It is her duty to foresee who will become the next sacrifice.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V Rare Pair Week Day 4: CandyAppleshipping

 

   For as long as there has been a town, there has been a castle on the hill. For as long as there had been people in the town, there had been monsters in the castle. The distance is not overly long but the lives of the people in the town and the lives of the monsters in the castle did not bisect. Except on special occasions.

   Tonight, the spring solstice, was the exception.

   Once a generation, so about every thirty years, the monsters would put in a request. They would require one young person, the gender of which often irrelevant, to be sent to the castle by divine will. Divine will, of course, representing an intuitive council of humans of varying ages who were fortune tellers and others of a similar practice.

   Mieru was the youngest in the human clan of diviners but she was often the keenest and the brightest. Her elders were very proud of her. So, her grandparents had been more than delighted to announce that this generation’s duty of oracle for the monsters in the castle would be passed to their darling granddaughter.

   It was an honour and privilege. After all, this wasa duty that only came once every thirty years and would usually be reserved for someone far older than Mieru but, she was a prodigy. It felt good to be one.

   As dusk drew in and the last of the winter winds blew, the sun shone and Mieru was dressed by her cousins in the appropriate garb. She donned a large dress and a veil. Someone lit incense and someone else scattered rose petals throughout their little manor in the town.

   Mieru was led to the room which had the most spiritual energy: the attic. She sat herself down and inhaled deeply. The lavender smoke swirled around her and she brandished her favourite crystal ball: an object which gleamed and was crafted of a blue gem, shaped like an apple.

   Around her, her choir of cousins sang. Her parents watched expectantly and Mieru closed her eyes. She took a breath and stilled herself. She focused on her natural surroundings and ignored all human life. This was a prestigious duty and she needed her inner world silent even though the outer world was attempting to amplify all the spiritual energy already present.

   Phosphenes danced before her eyes. The smell of lavender was dizzying. She saw colours and stars then she began to see a hazy vision. The more she concentrated, the more the image sharpened.

   It was like watching a picture book: colourful stills to represent different things. She saw the castle on the hill. She saw the magnificent, rotting door open boisterously. She saw a flurry of rice and petals. Candles lit up on the inside of the castle and a red carpet unfurled. It rolled down the hill: through the grass, through flowers and through dirt.

   Then, at the end of the ream of carpet where the golden tassels flailed, she saw a pair of glass shoes and a small woman, a bride, walked forward. Petals from her bouquet fell off and entangled with her dress: a brilliant shining walk.

   Mieru watched as the bride strut down the carpet. The vision was so real, it felt as though that snow-white dress of satin was on Mieru’s hips and it was as if the glass shoes were on her own feet. She walked with the bride.

   It was a long journey, but not a strenuous one. The bride was taking it all in stride. Soon, she entered the castle and came to the other end of the ream. The castle’s lobby was decorated like a chapel with gleaming walls and glittering, but violent, stained glass windows.

   The bride stood before her groom. Her monstrous groom.

   Curiously, they were about the same height. The groom looked unto his bride and Mieru got a good look at his face. He was furred with a protruding snout. Snaggle tooth fangs stood out of his mouth and he licked his lips. He was dressed akin to a soldier, but his clothes were inaccurate, toy-like. His wolfish tail wagged.

   He turned to his bride and gently lifted up her heavy veil. Mieru’s heart thudded in her chest. Her palms sweated. The vision broke.

   Mieru clasped her breast and stared, horrified, into her crystal ball. She knew who the bride was. She knew who the monsters were demanding for this generation’s sacrifice.

   “Daughter, are you okay?” her mother asked with a sharp, scared inflection.

   “They want…”

   “They want who, dearest?” her father asked.

   “They want me.” Mieru gasped. “I’m the sacrifice. I-I’m going to be that creature’s BRIDE!”

   “As it has been foreseen, as it shall be.” her grandmother said.

   There could be no arguing. The future was a stony thing, after all.

   So, at midnight, Mieru was shipped out by carriage. Outside her manor, headless horsemen waited for her. So, they had chosen her for truth after all. And she was whisked away.

   The journey took until dawn. Mieru sat in silence with some luggage. She held her apple in her hands. She was nervous. She’d never thought about marriage before. She had been waiting for her fated lover. She supposed though, someone picked by prophecy, would make a fated lover, but would he be perfect for her?

   After all, he was a monster.

   Just as the sun’s morning rays first began to break the darkness, the carriage stopped. Mieru peered out the window. She held onto the curtains and looked out. The castle was exactly like she had seen in her vision. Tall, intimidating, a dark fortress.

   On the other side of the carriage, one of the headless horsemen knocked.

   “My lady.” he said, his voice emanating from a nearly pin-pointed origin, but not quite.

   “Coming.” Mieru replied.

   She stowed away her crystal ball and grabbed her luggage. The door opened for her and she carefully disembarked. A horse whinnied, and it was colder than Mieru imagined. She shivered.

   “My lord is here.” the horseman said.

   Mieru tentatively looked unto the right and she saw the creature from her vision. He was small. Perhaps more bear-like in human, than wolf-like. He grinned. Mieru stared into his jaws; studying the curve of his fangs. Her stomach twisted, and she felt sick.

   “I’ve never been married before,” he began impishly, “but you’re really cute. Let’s get along. My name is Sora.”

   A moment before, Mieru had been nauseous. However, now, she could sense no ill intent from this monstrous groom to be of hers. Instead, she was relieved by his playfulness. She didn’t think that was the face of someone who intended to eat her.


	5. Rumour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: canon-complaint suicide discussion/imagery.
> 
> Dennis has given up humans. Humans have given up on Dennis.

  Let them talk, that is Dennis’ philosophy when it comes to that who has become his one true love.

  There were rumours about him. There had always been rumours about him. Dennis had always found himself at the point of exclusion amongst his peers. He was too tall, too gangly, too freckly, too red-headed, too smiley, too eccentric. He was always  _too_  something. Now, he was too in love.

  But he didn’t mind. Let them talk. Let them be right, let them be wrong. Just so long as Dennis had that whom he considered his one true love, his soul mate completely and utterly true. After all, he thought it so wrong that it had to be right.

  Dennis had given up on humans.

  It’s sad but true. Yuya had tried but time and time again, the truth that Dennis had learned prevailed. Humans were selfish creatures who could only hurt themselves and hurt others. Dennis had done both. He had not only given up on humanity but his own. He couldn’t bear to see the destruction of the internal self anymore; he couldn’t bear to see the destruction of the external selves anymore. He had to atone. His penance in peace and loneliness.

  Perhaps there was some good in humans, possibly. Yuya was a good exception to that notion but there were not enough exceptions so, Dennis had given up. He had fought against so many to prove that smiling would help heal all who hurt. He wasn’t entirely wrong. Dennis’ smiles are healing him, even if they come from a place Yuya, what anyone, would call misguided.

  His first penance, his first peace, had also been misguided. It was a suicide that was not a suicide. It was disrupted. Being a card was good. Exciting even. It was blackness and nothingness, but it connected him closer to his truth, to his abandonment of humans and closer to his embrace of his soul mate. It was a good punishment, Dennis thought. After all, he had been the one to shoot the dove which had started the war after all. He deserved it but, he got a second chance.

  He misses being a card. Perhaps because it makes him miss the truth of what he’s become now. A very, very eccentric human.

  Dennis had always been eccentric. Eccentric. He loves that word. It rolls off the tongue and comes off as charming. Dennis thinks he’s charming. He knows tricks and skills that dazzle the eyes. He is a magician after all; that was a central part of his identity. However, beneath his charming exterior as a magician, he is undeniably eccentric to the point of flaw.

  But, that’s what being in love does to a man. It brings out the worst of his nature. And Dennis’ love most certainly embodies the worst of his nature. It accentuated his misanthropy and his misery. But, at least he’s smiling, and his smile will be everlasting, just like his love’s.

  He’s in love with his Trapeze Magician. An everlasting smile, eyes that don’t judge, human enough but not in the ways most people consider important. He’s perfect.

  Trapeze Magician has a heartbeat. He has a soul. He’s warm. But, his heartbeat is quiet. His soul is mostly unknown. His warmth is tepid at best. Still, he’s perfect. Dennis loves him.

  It’s an unusual relationship.

  Dennis would be the last to tell you. Not because he is stubborn, but simply because he is in love and he has accepted the reality of being in love with unreality. Besides, there are plenty more speakers who could chide in before him and they hate that his reality is a loving unreality.

  Dennis doesn’t mind though. He’s given up on humans. He doesn’t need a relationship verified by human standards. Dennis is content enough to kiss the surface of his card by moonlight, how romantic, and he is content enough to summon it when he is lonely and to dance beneath saturated lights on a circus platform.

  It’s difficult though. Only sometimes. After all, he’s embraced his one true love’s one true form and he has rejected humanity. Besides, it’s only difficult when he forgets that his partner hasn’t had to make the same sacrifices as him to be the illusion that is currently.

  It is only when his affection goes too far, it goes unreciprocated. A blank stare. A willing partner, but not an excited partner. Trapeze Magician was lucid. He wasn’t entirely certain of Dennis’ actions. He was a monster after all: an illusion. But Dennis doesn’t mind. He doesn’t need affection like humans know affection. He needs affection like he knows affection and he knows affection by the exhilaration of acrobatics and the company of a card on his bedside table.

  It’s a quiet, lonely existence but it is his. After all, that’s what happens when you give up on humans. Dennis doesn’t mind. He’s true and eccentric. He mutters to himself and to his ace, as odd as it is. So, talk. Make your rumours. He’s in love with the one whom he considers to be his soul mate.


	6. Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dennis is beginning to look to the future again but goes to Mieru for some advice.

   Dennis extended one hand to Mieru whilst he rested his jaw on the other. “Well?” he prompted her.

   “You have a short life line,” Mieru began as she inspected his hand, “and a short love life, a short heart line.”

   “Does that mean I’m going to die young and unloved?” he asked, pessimistically.

   “Yes.” Mieru said, flatly.

   “R-Really?” Dennis stammered.

   Mieru laughed. “No, you fool.”

   “Oh.” Dennis hummed.

   “I just wanted to rile you up.” Mieru said. “I can tell your feeling… under the weather.”

   “I am.” he sighed.

   “However, fortunately, you have sought me out.” Mieru said.

   “That I have, that I have…” Dennis mused. “Ever since the war ended… I’ve felt so lost and without guidance. I used to just follow orders and put on facades. I don’t have to do that anymore, do I?”

   “Nope.” Mieru replied. “But, I know what you mean. The war proved to me that fate is fluid and that things can go unseen. It’s… daunting. Alienating.”

   “Yep.” Dennis agreed.

   “But, I stick to what I know regardless.” Mieru mused.

   “Should I do the same?” Dennis asked.

   “Perhaps, but I don’t think that’s wise.” Mieru said. “Just because you’re an actor, doesn’t mean you have to always play a role; that way of thinking is likely your Gemini descendent talking.”

   Mieru glanced at the birth chart she had made up for Dennis in preparation for today. She had to make some estimates based on the fact that the world Dennis had been born into, the dimension of Fusion, was no more. For now, the one she had scrounged up seemed to be fine for him.

   “I see…” Dennis said. “So, what do you suggest, my tiny fortune teller?”

   “Well, fate is funny. Hypothetically, I can divine how you die and what sort of person you are based on the positions of the stars at your date of birth. I could tell you your traumas, your joys, you anything, really but I don’t think that’s necessary. In a way, you have been reborn. After all, you did card yourself and yet, here you are instead.”

   Dennis shivered. “…Yeah.”

   “Hey, I told you, if you wanted a serious reading, you had to be mentally prepared on that front.” Mieru said with a stern furrow of her brows.

   “I know, I know!” Dennis replied, putting on that falsetto, American accent of his on display.

   Mieru rolled his eyes. “How about I tell you something lighter then?” she asked.

   Dennis drummed his fingers on the table, contemplating it. “…Sure, but I am curious about how you can divine my death from this birth chart.”

   “It’s not accurate as say if it were mine, but it would be in close approximation.” Mieru said pointedly. “Well, first I shall butter you up. Your Leo in Venus is rather interesting in terms of fluff and everyone loves a good sun Libra, but your Eighth House Cancer is where your possible death is, and your Sagittarius in Mars might be interesting in terms of anger.”

   Dennis huffed with a dreamy expression. “Spiel away.”

   “I intend to. Especially since your paying by the minute.”

   “Wh-What?” Dennis stammered.

   “You really weren’t listening, were you?” Mieru huffed.

   “What about mates’ rates?” Dennis begged.

   “Fine, but only because I’m enjoying this.” Mieru winked.


	7. Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the name of the planet's future, we will punish you!

   Masumi closed her eyes and took a breath. This was it. This was the end. She opened her eyes and she could feel the flow of energy around her. She could feel starlight, moonlight, the grace of wind and flowers. She could hear birds chirp and she could hear the tentative breaths of that whom she loved.

   “En... Flowers!” Yuzu called out and she thrust her hand forward. The bracelet on her wrist jangled around.

   From beneath her, wildflowers grew. The perfume they exuded heavenly, the light they exuded sublime. Yuzu was transformed from herself to someone faster, stronger, more magical than herself but still... her: En Flowers. The magical girl of flowers with power of music and sound.

   The thrust of her hand sent energy through Masumi who was in the middle of their ritual stance. She accepted the energy.

   “En Moon!” yelled Serena.

   Her energy was vibrant. It was scouring and all seeing. She was the missionary of the moon and nothing did not catch the moon’s gaze on a watchful night. The light she produced from her bracelet was silvery and cutting; beams of lunar energy. She was transformed into her magical self as well with control over light itself.

   Again, Masumi accepted the energy Serena was sent unto her.

   “En Wind!” Rin yelled and she winked at Serena; they could be so competitive those two.

   But, that was nearly fortunate. Rivalry brought out their love in different ways and love strengthened all their magic and energies. Rin was the missionary of air: cold and cutting. The wind sitrred up around all of them and a shiver was broguht down their spine like a tease.

   To complete the outer circle of the ritual was Ruri. She gently moved her hand through the air. Where the other girls were a touch brutish, she was elegant like a dancer in a grandiose theatre. The song of birds came to a crescendo in the distance.

   “En... Birds!” Ruri called out.

   The magic she sent through not just Masumi, but all of them, was soft and fluffy. it was the silken touch of a feather: gentle and graceful.

   Masumi took a breath. She piushed her hands through the air. She was the epicentre of this powerful ritual. The final piece who didn’t quite belong but determination and tenacity could polish rock to diamond, it would seem.

   “Knight... Gems!” Masumi yelled.

   The energy she received from her loves rushed through her body and strengthened what little she possessed. it strengthened her until her body could not cope and pushed the aura outwards; sharing in the magic and powering up her loves.

   The more they loved, the more powerful they were. that was the appreciation of nature.

   Masumi transformed into the knight of jewels and gems. The realm in which the sparkling, ethereal magic her loves possessed could inhabit for a more permanent ritual.

   The light they were producing cooled, dulled, and shattered into something akin to stardust in a myriad of shades: pink, green ,blue, lilac, and purple. 

   “For the future of our planet,” the girls chanted and struck a pose, “we will punish you, evil-doers!”


End file.
